Davis was off balance. He reached for it. Never turned his hips. Seemed flat-footed. Hit it off the end of the bat. Seemingly one-handed. Didn't get all of it.

And crushed it.

On April 28, Davis pulled Doolittle's down-and-away slider over the Coliseum wall in right-center, 400 feet-plus, for the ninth of his majors-leading 33 home runs. Only six players have had more homers before an All-Star break. Davis is on target for 60.

"Usually when guys hit a ball like that, you've made a mistake on a breaking ball or grooved a fastball right down the middle," Doolittle said. "You go back to the dugout and think, 'What else could I have done?' I asked (Norris) if it was a bad pitch, and he said it was right where he wanted it.

"You get a guy with the bat control and hands like that who's that strong, it's pretty dangerous. He has raw upper-body strength. It was pretty much a no-doubter."

Davis is one of baseball's best stories. To an extent, he has been Yasiel Puig for three-plus months, collecting four homers and 16 RBIs in his first four games and remaining a menace to pitchers ever since. His average has stayed above .300, and he leads the majors in total bases, slugging percentage and OPS and is second in RBIs and doubles.

Unlike Puig, Davis was no overnight sensation. This has been a laborious journey. He was an up-and-down performer for the Rangers for most of four seasons, twice getting demoted to the minors, and was traded with pitcher Tommy Hunterto Baltimore in July 2011 for a reliever, Koji Uehara, and $2 million.

Score that E-Texas.

Davis' first full season in Baltimore was a career year (.270, 33 homers, 85 RBIs), and now he's putting those numbers to shame. Saturday, he hit a two-run homer to equal his 2012 totals in homers and RBIs (in the Orioles' 88th game), and he's hitting .324.

A's third baseman Josh Donaldson, whose own numbers have soared this year, can relate.

"Obviously, the guy's unconscious right now," said Donaldson, who's 27, same as Davis. "It's not a sporadic thing. From personal experience, I think he's understanding what he's doing more and understanding himself more as a hitter, and I think it's awesome when you see a guy figure it out the way he has."

Like Donaldson, a former catcher, Davis has settled on one position. Last year, he was a designated hitter in 60 games, an outfielder in 41. Now he's a first baseman, period.

"He's found a home at first base and is comfortable there," Donaldson said. "There's a lot to be said about being comfortable and getting that opportunity every day. Those are recipes for continuing to do well."

The reasons Davis cites for the turnaround start with a better opportunity and better plate discipline (he's walking more and striking out slightly less). He has become a good bad-ball hitter, using the whole field and putting good wood on pitches out of the zone. Just ask Doolittle.

Steroids? We've learned never to suggest anyone is clean. For the record, Davis denied it on Twitter in response to a kid's question and said he views Roger Maris' 61 homers as the single-season record, not Mark McGwire's 70 or Barry Bonds' 73 because of their PED use.

That would mean if Davis hits 62, he'd be the record-holder in his mind. Either way, he has made an impression throughout the game, including in Oakland.

"People talk about being locked in," Donaldson said. "Not only is that happening for him, but he's able to do it every day."

The Bull Pen

-- The Rangers' desperation for a right-handed batter was measured by their signing of Manny Ramirez, 41 and a long shot to return to the majors. They faced a left-hander on Tuesday, Seattle's Joe Saunders, and their lineup included four lefty swingers. They scored two runs, and GM Jon Daniels signed Ramirez the next day.

-- Cincinnati's Joey Vottoleads the majors with 62 walks. On the flip side, Adam Joneshas played in every Orioles game and walked nine times. When he drew a walk Thursday, his first in 43 games, spanning 184 plate appearances, they nearly threw a parade in Baltimore.

-- The Cubs have had plenty to trade and made Scott Feldmantheir first chip, but it's questionable if they got enough in return. Rather than acquiring young talent from Baltimore, they got reliever Pedro Strop, 28, and scuffling pitcher Jake Arrieta, 27, who was assigned to the minors.

-- Matt Garza, the focus of a flood of scouts at the Coliseum on Wednesday, is the hottest available starter, and the Dodgers are most interested among NL West teams. Others following Garza include the Nationals, Phillies, Red Sox, Rangers, Indians and Blue Jays.

-- The Orioles weren't exactly prepared for Feldman, who's 6-foot-7. They had no pants to fit him, so they found a pair belonging to 6-foot-9 Mark Hendrickson, who's at Triple-A Norfolk and played in the NBA for the Suns, Kings, Nets and Cavaliers. Feldman was fine in the hand-me-downs, throwing six innings of two-run ball in his O's debut.

-- Padres coach Dave Roberts, whose memorable stolen base helped propel the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series, was immortalized on the Fenway Park Walk of Fame, where his footprints are cemented alongside the handprints of Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky and others. Roberts was flattered, saying, "I'd never had anything molded except my teeth."

Pittsburgh pulls out of losing skid

Little did Barry Bonds know that his signing with the Giants in December 1992 would mark the end of winning baseball in Pittsburgh for 20 years.

Bonds played 15 more seasons, making the Giants legitimate again and becoming the biggest draw as they opened their new yard in 2000. Meantime, the Pirates lost 90-plus games 10 times and topped 100 losses twice during their 20 years of losing records.

In spring training, manager Clint Hurdlesaid it would take 95 wins for the Pirates to make the postseason. It was laughable.

The Pirates are on target for 97.

They own the lowest ERA in the majors and had four All-Stars chosen on Saturday: pitchers Jeff Locke and Jason Grilli, center fielder Andrew McCutchen and third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

A case could have been made for reliever Mark Melancon, outfielder Starling Marte or catcher Russell Martin, but who can be greedy when your team has had more consecutive losing seasons than any other team in history?

In the Bay Area, the longest skid for the A's was six years (1993-98), four for the Giants (1974-77 and 2005-08). Before the A's moved to Oakland, they lost 15 straight years through 1967. The Giants, dating to 1883, never lost as many as five straight seasons.

The Pirates aren't just looking to finish above .500. They're looking to win the NL Central and actually are buyers as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, needing a right fielder with pop to replace struggling Travis Snider and Jose Tabata, who hasn't proved to be a run producer.

In any event, the Pirates are finally getting over Bonds' exodus. It just took a little longer than expected.

Hot homer starts

Chris Davis hit his 33rd home run Saturday in Baltimore's 88th game. Six players have hit more homers before an All-Star break: